Kickass shows guests Mazo
Kickass, the doorstop dog, assisted the keeper in showing Phyllis’s family around his town on a recent day—the railroad that runs through town and gives Mazomanie its early identity as a railroad town complete with roundhouse and watering tank, the old jail, and then, of course, the sign about John Appleby who became famous for inventing the knotter used in early grain harvesting machines. In this high tech world, there is something fine and decent in remembering a man who made a big name by watching his mother knitting and transferring his observations into something that tied a knot in a piece of twine. The technically- sophisticated Phyllis clan seemed duly impressed and that made the keeper feel good. Some years ago, he—the keeper, might have considered showing his guests the long-gone nude beach over on the river. Mazomanie keeps its clothes on these days. The railroad and the knotter are better historical identifiers.